1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to photography, and more particularly to a combination camera and developer adapted to allow continuous photographing on, and developing of, roll-type film, especially in microfilm systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Microfilm developing apparatuses, as well as apparatuses for the development of other types of film, conventionally employ an optical system including an objective lens for producing an image for recording of an object on a given film frame. Typically, this is accomplished by initially illuminating the object and subsequently directing the resulting optical beam onto the frame of the film to produce an image thereof.
After exposure, most films are collected onto a take-up reel that is thereafter removed for transport to the developing apparatus. A standard spool of microfilm will contain as many as 3,000 image frames. Nevertheless, under typical circumstances, the entire film roll is required to be exposed and collected prior to development. This procedure can be highly inefficient in its use of film materials as well as developing chemicals where less than a full roll has been exposed but needs to be developed.
One example of a prior art apparatus intended to cope with this problem by combining the exposure apparatus with a developing apparatus is U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,809 (Ponce). Ponce discloses a combination apparatus that directs the exposed film to and through a plurality of chemical pods that contain various developing, fixing, neutralizing, and washing liquids needed to develop the exposed film. Sensors within the Ponce apparatus act to sever the film after every fourteen frames, whether or not fourteen frames were actually exposed. All film strips are cut to the same length, regardless of the number of frames exposed prior to processing. This method and apparatus, therefore, suffer from many of the problems of the conventional art in that film material is wasted and the versatility desired by many photographers is lacking. If only one image is exposed and desired to be developed, a strip containing fourteen frames, thirteen of them blank, is nevertheless produced.
Another problem encountered in prior art apparatuses such as Ponce is that the developed film is collected on a take-up reel in the order that the images are exposed, resulting in a final, developed spool wherein the last image is the first image to be viewed from the collected spool. This can lead to significant organizational problems.
In prior art developing systems, it has been common practice in the development of exposed film to provide a plurality of tanks, each containing a different processing liquid. In each tank, there are provided rollers at the top and bottom, immersed in the film-processing liquids, with additional rollers provided between the various tanks. The film to be processed is guided over these rollers to form one or more loops in each tank. Ponce discloses a variation on this technique designed to avoid stretching and marring of the film surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,722 (Staude) discloses an alternative film developing apparatus having continuous circulation of the developing liquids and avoiding the accordion-like methods of other prior art techniques. Staude employs H-shaped members with grooves in the inner sides of the upper arms of the H-shaped member whereby the film to be processed fits in these grooves and it is maintained in a position slightly above the cross arm of the H-shaped member. A piping system brings appropriate fluids up through the center of the cross arm of the H-shaped member and sprays the fluid onto the underside of the film.
Standard prior art developing techniques further suffer from poor circulation in the chemical baths such that the chemicals that may be contacting the exposed film will not always be properly mixed or fresh.
Accordingly, there exists a need for methods and apparatuses that combine an exposing camera with a developer that can develop a variety of film strip lengths and that ensure proper development of exposed film through the proper circulation of developing chemicals.